Bush Poll Numbers Low as Super PAC Prepares Big Ad Buy

“We believe Jeb Bush has the strongest record of conservative accomplishments in the race, and we plan to tell that story,” — Paul Lindsay, communication director, Right to Rise USA

Right to Rise, a pro-Jeb Bush super PAC, is about to spend at least $10 million on TV ads in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. This is the first major spending by the well-funded PAC.

The LA Times points out that Bush seems not to have caught on with Republican voters as of yet – a CNN/ORC poll taken in Iowa and released Wednesday showed Bush with only 5% support.

Is the increase in spending a coincidence? Or is there worry that things aren’t going as planned?

The Bush campaign brushed it off, of course, essentially saying “slow and steady wins the race.” That is true: presidential campaigns are long and spikes in popularity that can be captured in polls are meaningless if unsustained.

That being said, the LA Times story includes some anecdotal quotess that are cause for concern in the Bush camp.

Dennis Albaugh, an Iowa billionaire who has donated to Bush, was quoted as saying, “It doesn’t look good right now.”

And Doug Gross, the Iowa finance chairman for George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign, said Bush “didn’t stand out” during the first debate and that his answers were “relatively ineffective and not memorable.”

Again, Right to Rise is well-funded – the most well-funded on the Republican side. He can afford to stay in for a long time, even if his poll numbers remain low.

Eventually, however, he will have to win more Republican voters over than he is now if he wants the nomination.